


End Of The Innocence

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Original Character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-09-14
Updated: 2000-09-14
Packaged: 2019-05-15 01:28:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14781041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Roni meets Lydia ("Jumper" by AJ) while the First Lady confronts Lydia's father.





	1. End Of The Innocence

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

End of the Innocence

by AJ

Notes: This wasn't supposed to become a series, but alas, it has. And thanks to Dallas and to Rhiannon for their help.

Summary: If I knew where this was going, I'd gladly tell you, but I don't, so I can't.

Disclaimer: Just a girl having fun.

"So, how'd you sleep last night? Was the bed comfy enough for you?" Abbey was putting up such a fuss over Lydia.

"Yes, ma'am. It was the most comfy... I slept better last night than I have in a very long time. Thank you, ma'am." Lydia smiled as she sat down at the breakfast table, only one day after she tried to jump off a building.

As always, Jed Bartlet was late. As he entered the dining room, he walked behind his wife, and planted a kiss on her neck, and then he looked up at the teen sitting across the table from him. "Hello Lydia, I trust you had a good night's sleep." Jed moved his glance down, to his wife, and continued "Even though my wife wouldn't stop hovering over you."

Lydia smiled as she watched Abbey smack Jed's arm that was tightening its grip around her. "Like I was telling Mrs. Bartlet, Mr. President..."

"It's Jed and Abbey." Jed interrupted Lydia.

Lydia blushed slightly as she started over, "As I was telling Abbey, I slept better than I ever think I have before. Thank you, Jed."

As Jed moved to sit down on the chair next to his wife, a secret service agent entered the room. "Mr. President, Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum are here." He announced quietly to the President.

"Already?" Jed looked down at his watch. Guess when people find out that the President of the United States would like to see them; they really do come in a hurry. "Okay, well, we are going to finish... start breakfast. Have them wait in my office, would you?"

"Yes sir, Mr. President, sir." The young man sounded as he walked off speaking into his mike.

"Who is Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum?" Abbey asked her husband, who was giving her a warning glance.

"Lydia," Jed glanced across the table, with a look of unease quickly overtaking his facial expression. "We need to talk."

Lydia picked up on the President's facial expression and the tone of his voice, and knew exactly what he was about to tell her. "They don't want me back. They don't. And I don't want to go back. You can't make me. You aren't my parents, I don't have any parents." Lydia flew out of the chair she was in and ran out of the dining room. Abbey and Jed exchanged glances for a moment longer, and then Abbey got up and followed the girl's tracks.

Cautiously entering the room that she had set up for Lydia the night before, Abbey got discouraged as she found it empty. Then she heard a noise coming from inside of the closet. Slowly, she walked over there, and opened the door, to find Lydia sitting in a ball on the floor of the closet, in complete darkness.

Abbey found herself crawling down onto the floor and sitting beside the girl. Bringing Lydia's head down, on to her shoulder, Abbey herself began to cry. ~~~ Lydia reluctantly entered into the Oval Office, to find her parents sitting across from each other on the couches, with Charlie keeping them company. Once Charlie saw the three people enter the room, he was quick to make his exit. Lydia's parents, Patty and Ken stood up immediately at the entrance of the POTUS and the FLOTUS. Then... they saw their daughter.

"Hello, I'm Jed Bartlet, this is my wife, Abbey, and I'm sure you know this beautiful young lady lingering behind me, here." Jed said as he stuck his hand out.

"Yes, sir. I'm glad you found her. We have so many children, it's hard to keep track of them all." Ken said. "I'm sorry, but we can't stay long, I have to get to work, and my wife needs to get back to our other children, so if we could just get Lydia... we'll be on our way."

Lydia turned into Abbey, and gave her a hug, then whispered, "Don't make me go... I don't want to go."

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Abbey whispered. "I have no choice. They are your parents."

"For crying out loud!" Ken sounded. "Lydia Grace, get your *ss over hear now!"

"Watch your mouth, Mr. Hampton, this is the Oval Office." Jed sounded right back, at least matching the volume of Ken's voice.

"Sorry sir," Ken lowered his voice. "It's just we don't have the kind of time to be wasting on Lydia here." Ken said as he jerked Lydia over to her.

Abbey's eyes grew furious at what she was witnessing. No wonder this girl tried to kill herself. Abbey glared a moment, "Your daughter, Mr. Hampton, almost tried to kill herself! I bet you didn't know that, did you? She thinks you don't love her! I told her she was probably just imagining it. I told her that all parents love their children. I couldn't have been more wrong, could I? I bet you know next to nothing about your daughter, in fact, I'm thinking that I probably know a hell of a lot more about Lydia than you do. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Who the hell are you to talk to me about my daughter? What I know about her is none of your damn business. You don't know a damn thing about my daughter, you're just some busy-body that happened by when she decided to throw a temper tantrum. "

"Don't you ever, and I mean EVER talk to my wife like that again. Do you understand?" Jed thundered. As he got a nod, he continued. "You may not think much of yourself, and you may not think much of your daughter, but this is the First Lady of your country, and I am your President. We deserve respect, and we demand it. If you ever so much as think of having another outburst such as that one, towards me, my wife, or even towards your daughter, I will find out about it, and you will not like my actions. I can guarantee you that one, sir. Now get the hell out of my White House before I have you thrown out." Jed added as he glanced at his door that grants him access to Leo's office, "And she stays here."

TBC...

  


	2. End Of The Innocence 2

End of the Innocence

by AJ

Notes: I seem to have reintroduced a character of mine into this story. I didn't plan on doing it, but I allowed my self to be persuaded into it.

Lydia stared at Leo with fear in her eyes. "Hi," she whispered softly.

"Hello. Linda, right?" Leo tried to remember the girl's name that just walked in to his office.

"Close, Lydia." She responded.

"What can I do for you?" Leo asked as he stood up from his desk and walked over to the girl.

"I don't know. Jed just made me come in here, probably cause he is about to yell at my parents, or Abbey is." Lydia said, as it started. Abbey's voice began to filter through into his office.

Most of what Abbey was saying was very hard to make out, but Lydia did pick up on a few things, the main one being that her father was becoming very upset. And he was, for a few seconds after Abbey's voice cut off, her father's picked up. For some reason, his voice was easier for her to pick up on. She understood every word he spoke, which caused her to break out in tears.

Leo could also hear the voices drifting in through the other room, and he saw the eyes in front of him begin to water. Closing up the gap between them, Leo took the girl into his arms, as Jed's voice was now the one to be heard.

A few seconds later, Leo's door opened up and Jed and Abbey walked through. Almost immediately, Lydia threw herself into Abbey's arms. She only just met her yesterday, but they already formed such a bond. The type of bond that Lydia was most in need of... Love.

"Thank you for not making me go back there." Lydia mumbled into Abbey.

Abbey made no attempts at speech; instead, she just stood there, being the support that Lydia had been lacking all her life.

"Lydia..." Jed spoke softly. "You are welcome to stay here, but maybe it would be best, if you called up an aunt or uncle, or someone you are related to."

"Okay." Lydia's voice was barely a whisper.

"Lydia, you don't have to if you don't want to. Jed's just saying that it might be better for you, if you did." Abbey clarified her husband's words.

"No, I'll go. I wouldn't want to be a burden on anyone."

"You're not a burden, Lydia. We enjoyed having you stay here last night." Jed said.

"It's okay, I'll go. I can tell when I'm not wanted." Lydia said as she ran out of the room.

It wasn't long after Lydia left Leo's office, that she crashed right into someone, or something. She wasn't quite sure until she heard the metal hit the ground, and a female voice proclaim, "OW!"

"I'm so sorry," Lydia cried as she turned her head up to see who it was she had crashed into.

"It's okay. Just... can you help me back into my chair?" Roni Bartlet asked.

"Yeah, sure." Lydia said quietly. She still remembered all of the hard times that Roni was put through a little less than three months ago. Lydia grunted a little as she helped to pick the First Daughter up, and replace her in her wheelchair.

"Thanks." Roni said as she positioned herself in her chair. Then she looked up at the worried face in front of her. "You're the one that Mom brought home, right? What's your name, Lydia?"

"Yeah, that's me." She responded quietly.

"Hi, I'm Roni Bartlet." Roni stuck her hand out, only for it to remain one solitaire hand.

Lydia looked down at Roni for one long moment, and then finally stuck her hand out to meet with Roni's. Roni, having a firm grip on the girl's hand, refused to let go. "I know that look in your eyes, Lydia. You want to run... you don't feel as if you belong... as if you deserve to belong... You couldn't be further from the truth."

TBC...


	3. End Of The Innocence 3

End of the Innocence

by AJ

Notes: This ends up having a strong theme, at least in my opinion. So, this part is going to be rated 15.

"You don't know anything about me. How do you know?" Lydia fired back at Roni as she tried to get her arm loose.

"Because Mom couldn't stop talking about you, when she called me on the phone last night." Roni said. "My Mom is a very loving person. She took me in right away, and loved me as a mother should love a daughter... Even though she knew nothing about me. Dad, too. And it took me a while to fully understand, to really realize that it was with them, that I belonged. But, I did come to that conclusion... eventually. And it couldn't have come sooner." Roni still had a firm grasp on Lydia's hand, but slowly began to loosen it. "I know where you've been. And I know where you are going. That was me, not that long ago. The difference is... you stopped yourself from trying to commit suicide. I didn't. You can get the help you need now, before it is too late. Cause, I gotta tell you, if you try to do it afterwards, it is not going to be a pretty sight." Roni paused and smiled at the younger female in front of her. "Now come on, let's go back in that office and you can apologize to them."

"But..."

"No, no but's." Roni's voice was firm. "Now come on. I don't have all day." Roni said as she caught Lydia reluctantly following her.

As Lydia choose to linger behind the wall, not to be seen by anyone inside of Leo's office, Roni opened the door and rolled herself into the doorway.

"Hey, Roni! What are you doing here? Didn't classes start up yesterday?" Jed asked, pleased to see his youngest daughter.

"Yeah, they did. I finished at 11. Anyway, I've got someone here who has something to say to you guys." Roni looked behind her, then pushed herself back out of the office. A moment later, she returned with Lydia.

Lydia hesitated for a long time, just making incoherent sounds. "Lydia." Roni said in a supportive manner. Roni knew what Lydia needed. She needed somebody in her corner, somebody to encourage her, somebody who has been there before. Roni.

"I'm sorry I tried to run out on the two of you. I know you weren't really trying to get rid of me. I'm sorry. It's just... all my life, I've been told how stupid I am, how ugly I am, how much I'm not wanted. How I was the biggest mistake my parents ever made. It's hard to get over that stuff. But you are not my parents, I should not have classified you in the same category as I did them. The two of you are nothing like my parents. You are everything they are not. So, I'm sorry, for the way I acted, and for running."

"It's alright. I'm sorry for what I said, especially because it upset you." Jed said as he moved over with his wife, to Lydia.

"Yeah..." Lydia hesitated. "As long as I am telling you... there's one more thing you should know about." Tears began to form in Lydia's eyes, as she frantically ran her fingers through her hair. "The reason I reacted the way I did... my uncle already took me in. I lived with him for the past two months, or so, until... until... he..." Lydia closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Determined to finish, she spoke up again, "He... he raped me." Lydia paused as she saw all eyes become fixed on her. "My uncle raped me. When I found out, that I was... when they told... preg-" Lydia paused as she was gathered up into Abbey's arms. "I couldn't stay with him anymore, so I went back home. I told my Dad that I was," Lydia swallowed hard again. "Pregnant, the abuse started to get worse, and I just had to get out of there. That's why I was up on that roof yesterday. That is the whole story."

When Lydia finished, she completely sank into Abbey's arms. Abbey being the only thing that was holding her up. Closing her eyes, Abbey drew the girl in further, and rested her head on top of Lydia's. "Shh. That's all behind you now. We're going to help you get past it. Shh." Abbey continued to make soothing sounds, as she herself began to feel week. Looking around the room, she found her husband's eyes. Jed immediately got the hint, and went behind Abbey, to be her strength, so that Abbey could be Lydia's.

THE END

  


End file.
